Zambia - Atlas of our Changing Environment

Background

The Republic of Zambia lies south of the equator, in the heart of Southern Africa and shares its borders with eight states: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe (FAO, 2001). The country has a total area of 752,614 sq kilometres of which 11,890 sq kilometres is covered by rivers and lakes. Zambia

is divided into ten administrative provinces: Central, Copperbelt, Lusaka,Western, Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, North-Western, Eastern and Southern as shown in Figure 1.2 (Central Statistics Office, 2012). The provinces are in turn subdivided into districts. Zambia’s major cities are Lusaka, the country’s capital, Ndola, Kitwe and Livingstone.

Mediterranean Sea

MOROCCO

LIBYA

ALGERIA

EGYPT

Western Sahara

MAURITANIA

Red Sea

MALI

NIGER

SUDAN

ERITREA

SENEGAL

CHAD

GUINEA- BISSAU GAMBIA

BURKINA FASO

DJIBOUTI

GUINEA

BENIN

Somaliland

CÔTE D’IVOIRE

ETHIOPIA

SIERRA LEONE

TOGO

NIGERIA

SOUTH SUDAN

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

LIBERIA

GHANA

CAMEROON

SOMALIA

EQ. GUINEA

UGANDA

KENYA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

CONGO GABON

I N D I A N O C E A N

RWANDA BURUNDI

AT L A N T I C O C E A N

TANZANIA

MALAWI

Elevation Metres

ANGOLA

ZAMBIA

0 200 -200 500 1 000 1 500 2 000 3 000 -1 000 -2 000 -3 000 -4 000 -5 000 -6 000

MOZAMBIQUE

MADAGASCAR

ZIMBABWE

BOTSWANA

NAMIBIA

SWAZILAND

LESOTHO

SOUTH AFRICA

Source: Natural Earth 2011, accessed online

Figure 1.1 Location of Zambia in Africa Natural Earth, 2011 accessed online

14

ZAMBIA - ATLAS OF OUR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT